They all stared at her and then started giggling again. She glanced at Rusty. “Oh. I guess they don’t know your nickname.”
“Well, they didn’t.” He stood and started shooing them out like chickens as the bell for lunch went. “Go and get some sunshine you lot, you’re all white as vampires.”
“You want to be alone…Rusty?”
“That’s Mr. Thorne to you. Stop being cheeky. Go on.” He opened the door for them and ushered them out before coming back in, locking it behind him.
“I’m sorry.” She felt awful. “Have I put my foot in it?”
He laughed. “Nah. You know what kids are like. Fascinated with anything that involves teachers’ home lives. They think we live at school. They spent ages trying to find out my first name. That little nugget of information will keep them quiet for a while.” He perched on one of the desks and smiled at her. “Thanks again for the coffee.”
“You’re welcome, again. Rusty…I’m sorry I came by… I just wanted to check we’re all right.”
He tipped his head at her. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“I…I wanted to say…” Spit it out, Faith. “Did you want to, um, end our contract?”
He studied her for a moment. Then a smile lit up his face. “Hell, no.”
A wash of relief made her inhale, and she couldn’t stop a big smile spreading across her own face. “Oh. Thank God.”
He laughed, but a frown marred his forehead. “Why would you think that?”
“It’s just… I thought maybe you were having second thoughts.”
He cleared his throat, looked at his coffee cup and took a long swig. Afterward he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before smiling at her again. “No.”
“Oh. Okay. Not feeling particularly effusive today, either?”
“What do you want me to say, Faith?” He sobered, his eyes taking on an intense look. “Do you want me to say I wasn’t shocked by what happened Saturday night? Because I can’t. I was shocked.” His gaze rested on her mouth, and she had a sudden, vivid recollection of him kissing her, his hand arousing her with gentle strokes. “I knew you’d be dynamite in bed. But I didn’t expect you to be quite so…” His eyes went slightly glazed, as if he was remembering something too. They lifted to meet hers, and for a moment, they just stared at each other.
Her heart thumped. He thought she was dynamite. “So…”
He smiled. “So…what sin’s next?”
She studied him. The mischievous look was back in his eyes. His mood seemed to have lifted. She still wasn’t sure what had got into him, but she was glad he was over it. “Gluttony. Food.”
“I’m guessing we’re not talking a four-course meal here.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“What are we talking?”
“That’s going to be a surprise. But I do have a task for you.”
“Oh?”
“The next location. How would you like to organise it?”
“You don’t want to go to the motel?”
“It’s fully booked, some sailing regatta or something. I thought you might like to choose somewhere.”
“Sure.”
His eyes were full of amusement, but she had no idea about what. Did he have a clue how sexy he looked at that moment? He sat back in his chair, hands linked in his lap, and like a typical bloke, his legs were wide apart, but even though he usually sat that way, she couldn’t stop herself thinking of the way she’d knelt between his legs and taken him in her mouth.
She looked back up at his face. There was obvious humour there now, and she realised he knew what she was thinking, and he was amused because he’d been thinking exactly the same thing.
She frowned. “Am I ever going to be able to look at you again without thinking of going down on you?”
He gave a short laugh. “I hope not.”
To cover her embarrassment, she walked around his classroom, looking at the students’ work on the walls, seeing how he’d created displays on the Waitangi Treaty and Gallipoli. He didn’t talk much about his work, although she knew he had a wealth of historical knowledge stored in his brain. As she looked at the posters and his distinctive slanted handwriting on the bottom of essays, it reminded her just how clever he was. When he was with the others, he rarely mentioned the fact that he’d been to university, probably because Toby was a labourer, albeit skilled, and Dan had taken over as assistant manager in the computer store he’d worked in on Saturdays and had never got to uni. She felt a newfound respect for Rusty, at the way he didn’t lord it over his mates because he was a professional and they weren’t.
He picked up a pen and started playing with it. “I read your website.”
“Oh?”
“In the comments, your readers were asking what job I do.”
She walked back over to him, smiling. “I saw.”
He looked puzzled. “Why do you think it’s important to them to know?”
“Because it’s a natural instinct to want your man to be intelligent, competent and able. So he can provide for your children.”
“They said they wanted to know if I did something hot.”
“And that,” said Faith.
He laughed. “Well you can tell them what I do is most certainly not hot.”
“Oh, you’re so wrong.”
“What’s hot about boring a class of thirty children to death?”
“I know for a fact you’re not boring in class.”
“How? You’ve never seen me teach.”
“Well, firstly you told me the number of students taking history over the last couple of years has more than doubled. But secondly, even if I hadn’t known that, I do know you’re smart, funny and confident. I know if I sat in on one of your lessons I’d want to jump you by the end.”
His lips curved. She perched on his desk. A bit closer and she’d be able to press her own lips against his smile. “I think I might kiss you now,” she warned him.
“As much as I’d like that, I’m not sure we should do it with an audience.”
Faith looked up, realising the two year thirteen girls who’d guessed Beau’s true identity had their noses pressed up against the windows of the classroom. She stood up hurriedly. “How did you know they were there when you had your back to the windows?”
“Teachers’ sixth sense.” He gave her a sexy smile. “I swear if they weren’t there I would have had you on the table by now.”
His remark took her completely by surprise and she stared at him, her cheeks growing warm. He laughed and pushed himself to his feet. “I have to go and do duty.”
“Sure. Look, what day do you want to meet?”
“Shall we do Friday night this week? Just to stop Dan and Eve getting too suspicious as to why we’re both busy on a Saturday night.”
“Yes, okay. I can leave the location to you?”
“Yep. Already got an idea.”
“Cool.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Rusty glanced over his shoulder and she followed his gaze. The two girls had gone. He bent forward, slipped his hand behind her head and gave her a brief, hot, hard kiss on the mouth. His thumb brushed her neck before he withdrew his hand. “See you soon.”
She nodded and pressed her lips together as she followed him out of the classroom.
“Thanks for the coffee. And for checking up on me.” He closed the door behind him and locked it.
“I wanted to make sure you hadn’t gone off me.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” He gave her an exasperated glare. “See you later.”
“See you.” She watched him walk off and stop to talk to a group of students. He seemed so young to be a teacher, but he was clearly confident in the role. It turned her on, seeing him so self-assured. Mind you, everything he did turned her on at the moment.
Mulling on that fact, she walked off in the opposite direction.
Rusty sat in his car and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. It was Friday afternoon, shor
tly after the end of school, and he was waiting in the school car park for Faith to show up, ready to spirit her off for the third sin.
She was late. He frowned, watching the last few teachers getting into their cars and driving off. Where had she got to? She had a thing about tardiness, and Dan and Toby were always getting into trouble with her for turning up late. He didn’t have a problem usually—when you worked to the school bells, you got to be a bit like Pavlov’s dog and functioned automatically on hourly intervals. Once he’d even stood up in the bar when a bell rang, making everyone laugh.
Had she changed her mind? He turned the car ignition on, lowered the window and turned it off again. After her visit to his classroom on Wednesday, he doubted it. But maybe she’d finally talked herself out of seeing him again.
It wouldn’t surprise him. Because he’d been having doubts himself. He knew she’d picked up on them. That’s why she’d come to his classroom. He’d denied there was a problem. Well, there wasn’t, not really. He didn’t want to stop seeing her. He didn’t regret what they’d done. Quite the opposite, in fact. And maybe that was the problem. He was enjoying himself so much he didn’t want to stop. And he knew he had to, after their contract finished. For several reasons. Dan, for one. Faith herself, for another—she’d made him promise it would end after the seventh sin, so clearly she wanted a finite end to their sexual relationship. And he had to end it because of himself. She deserved better than him. If they carried on after the seventh sin, she’d end up regretting it down the line. And then he’d lose her completely, and the thought of never having her as a friend again was too painful to bear.
He’d got too intense during the second sin, he knew it. He had no idea why, something to do with the magic of the moment, which made him want to slap himself, because he’d never considered himself particularly romantic. But there had been something magical about that evening and how he’d felt about the strange woman who’d loved him in the moonlight, the woman whom he hadn’t recognised, because she hadn’t been his friend Faith, Dan’s little sister, skinny and with braces. She’d been exotic and tantalising, and she’d taken his breath away with her passion.
When he’d first offered his services, he’d wondered whether her naivety and innocence would make sex with her clinical and mechanic—look Faith, this goes here, that goes there, try doing it this way, love. He’d thought she might be nervous and fumbling, and he’d seen his role as educational—no real surprises there considering what he did for eight hours a day, five days a week. Although he fancied her like mad, and he’d always been able to see past her role as Dan’s sister, he’d still thought she’d defer to him, and he had to admit part of him thought he’d be the one taking charge.
Her enthusiasm, her passion, had completely taken him by surprise. Although she wasn’t very experienced in bed, her eagerness to try everything, and her complete abandonment in their lovemaking, had shocked him. And he wasn’t easily shocked. He’d been with wilder, more experienced women who’d known every trick in the book and had been prepared to try them all out on him, but none of them had made him feel like he had the other night with Faith. He’d never lain in the moonlight and worshipped a woman as if she were a Greek goddess. He felt embarrassed now, thinking about it, but at the time it was as if he’d been under a spell, or drunk maybe, although he’d never been drunk, so he had no idea what it felt like.
And now he had five other sins to try, and excitement and impatience blended inside him, along with a hint of wariness. He felt as if he were standing at the edge of a huge puddle, about to step in, and he had no idea how deep it might be. It could come right over his head, for all he knew. He had to be careful. Okay, he was only four years older than her, but he was the guy—he had to take charge of their relationship. He had to keep things light and fun. The seven sins were the key—they’d agreed to take part in this scientific experiment, and he had to concentrate on the physical side of things and keep both of their emotions well out of the way.
At that moment, Faith came around the corner, saw his car and gave a big smile as she crossed the car park toward him. He got out and leaned on the door, smiling as she walked up to him. She wore a long green skirt and a black camisole top, and he could tell by the soft shape of her breasts and the lack of straps that she wasn’t wearing a bra. She possibly had no panties on either. Damn it, three seconds into the date and he had a hard-on. There was no hope for him.
“You’re late,” he said, softening it with a smile.
“I couldn’t get rid of Eve. I think she may have cottoned on to the fact I’m meeting Beau tonight.”
“I find it very odd when you refer to me in the third person.”
She winked at him, glancing quickly around the car park before coming around the car to the passenger side. She carried a big cooler along with her night case and dumped them on the back seat before climbing in the front.
“I feel like we should have a secret password or something,” he said, getting in beside her.
“I did think about wearing my dark glasses and false nose.” They both laughed, clipping in their seatbelts.
“If we see anyone we know you’ll have to duck down.” He started the car and headed for the exit.
She chuckled, reached across and squeezed his hand. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”
“Me too.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips. Glancing over, he saw her brown eyes were warm with affection.
He cleared his throat. “So what’s in the bag?”
“Ah, it’s a secret. Where are we going?”
“Er…not saying.”
“What are you, twelve years old?”
“Takes one to know one.” Laughing, they began talking about their day, while Rusty headed up State Highway Ten, out of town.
He drove for about half an hour, and Faith watched with interest as he headed north toward Doubtless Bay, but turned off at Pungaere Road for the Puketi Forest. Were they going camping? Halfway up the forest road, however, he took another turnoff across the beautiful rolling hills and fields full of cows and horses toward Lake Manuwai.
He smiled at her inquisitive glances. “Okay, stop giving me the third degree.” He put his hand in his pocket, extracted a key and passed it to her. “A colleague at work has a place on the lake.”
“Oh. How nice. Have you been there before?”
“Yes, he had a party there one Christmas. It’s pretty basic, but it’s got a lovely view.”
She felt a wave of excitement. “This is such fun. Sex should always be like this.”
“It is always like this if you’re doing it right.”
She knew he’d meant it to be funny, but her heart gave a little jump at the thought that he’d felt this way when he’d had sex with other women. She’d told him she had no problem with him having other lovers. But still… She’d been unable to stop a smile breaking out on her face when she’d walked up to him in the car park. He’d come straight from school so he was still wearing his school clothes—while not exactly a suit and tie, his black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and smart dark grey pants made the blood rush in her veins. His hair was getting a little long on top, falling forward over one eyebrow. He was gorgeous. He would never be short of female company.
She looked out of the window, trying to act casual. “You always have this much fun?”
He was quiet for a moment. Then she felt him take her hand. When she glanced across at him, his eyes were full of amusement. “Are you fishing for compliments, Hillman?”
“I am female. We kind of like them.”
He laughed. “Fair enough. Okay, how about if I say you’re the best I’ve ever been with? Will that do?”
“Compliments, Rusty, not fantastical statements. We can tell the difference.”
“Clearly not.”
She snorted. “I’m not stupid—you don’t have to protect my fragile ego. I’m well aware you’ve been with some pretty hot girls.” She grinned at him. “How
are you coping with only having sex once a week?”
“I might last about six seconds tonight, if you’re lucky.”
She giggled. “How often do you normally have sex?”
“Really, Faith.”
“What?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“It’s not like we’re dating. It’s called historical investigation. You should appreciate that.”
“I don’t, because it’s not, it’s called being nosy, and you’re not dragging me down that road. How would you like it if I told other women what it had been like with you?”
She shrugged and suppressed a twinge of unease at the thought of him sleeping with someone else when they finally finished their contract. That was none of her business. “I was just…inquisitive. Interested.”
“A.K.A. nosy.”
“If you say so. Anyway, you never answered my question. I need to know these things for my research. How often do you have sex?”
“As often as I can get it. Now be quiet, we’re nearly there.” He turned to the right down another road, and then left down a long drive. He threaded the car through the trees, eventually emerging in front of a long, low house perched on the edge of the lake.
Chapter Ten
“Oh, wow.” She was out even before he’d switched off the engine. The house was beautifully private, surrounded by bush and overlooking the vast lake, which glittered bright blue in the late afternoon sun.
“Nice, huh?” He led her over to the house. It had double sliding doors leading onto the large decking, which faced north to catch the sun all day.
He let them in and she wandered around, seeing the open-plan kitchen off the living room and the two bedrooms, small, but neat and clean. She came back into the living room to see him placing the cooler on the work surface, her night case in his other hand. He handed it to her, smiling. “Does the house meet with your approval?”
“Very much so.”
“Good. Now, I want you to go and unpack. And don’t come out until I call you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
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